The Lullaby of Takeda
by akirasatsuna
Summary: Akira hails from the little village of Takeda, behind the mountains of Koga. She lived a peaceful life with her grandmother until one day, a well-dressed man arrived and changed her life forever. (AU) (NejiOC)
1. Author's Notes

**DISCLAIMER:**

 **This story is inspired by the lullaby of Takeda, a folk song from Japan.**

 **The geographic locations mentioned in this story are all fictional and any resemblance to any real places are purely coincidental.**

 **Naruto and its characters are also not mine.**

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

 **This story is unedited. It's more of a "word-vomit-fic" where I just dump my ideas without a clear direction. To be honest, I'm just trying to get out of a writer's block, a last song syndrome, and relaxing my brain after my licensure exam.**

 **This will be a short fic, maximum of five chapters perhaps. I discovered the lullaby while I was browsing for classical music in youtube. The haunting melody had not left me since** **and I felt compelled to binge-write; hence, the simple plot.**

 **As mentioned in the disclaimer, this short story will not follow canon. Instead this is set in AU, with Akira as my OC.**

 **Please leave a comment/review, I would love to hear what you think! Thank you in advance!**


	2. The Lullaby of Takeda

The mountain wolves are at it again.

Akira squinted at the dusky shadows from where the howls are coming from. It's that time of the year, where a full moon graces the night sky and the wolves are alive. She sighed loudly. Another year is coming to pass.

The young girl wiped her face with the sleeve of her worn kimono before hurrying along the dusty road. At 8 years old, Akira helpd out in the market by cleaning fish and other errands to help her ill grandmother. As she jogged towards their small hut, her pockets jingled with what little money she earned. On one hand she carried a small packet of herbs and on the other, two pieces of pork trimmings the butcher was kind enough to spare her.

Akira lived in a small hut in the tiny village of Takeda, tucked behind the cold mountain pass of Koga. An orphan, Akira lived with her ailing grandmother, Inoue, and their dog, a crippled shiba inu named Yuudai. Hidden from plain view by tall bamboo and shrubbery, the small hut was a sorry sight. The thatched roof was propped by asymmetrical posts, the floor nothing but hardened earth. A small bathroom was outside, concealed by a wall of dried coconut leaves and husks while the small vegetable patch was barren.

"Obaa-san! I'm home!"

Akira's greeting was drowned by the violent coughs from the small cot by the corner. The young girl hurried to the nearby sink, took a tin cup and filled it with water. She knelt beside the cot.

"Please drink this, Obaa-san," she said, small hands trying to lift the frail old woman.

Inoue took few small sips from the cup of water before her coughing spell began again. Akira tucked the blanket tighter around her grandmother's thin form.

"Tsunade-san was very kind enough to give me some herbs today, granny," she said as she smoothed the crinkles of the worn blanket. "I'll make you some tea, okay?"

Inoue's reply was another bout of coughs, each heave harder than the first. Akira pretended not to see the blood from her grandmother's mouth.

While she ground the herbs given to her by Tsunade (the village's only pharmacist), Akira boiled water for the tea and the pork trimmings. Ever since her grandmother caught a terrible cough last year, ("It's tuberculosis," Tsunade had said. "You better have the doctor from Konoha or Suna to look at you since it seems to be a severe illness."), her health had deteriorated. Inoue began to wilt like a dry leaf during the harshest of summers. Unable to work, Akira was forced to take upon her small shoulders the burden of working for both her and her grandmother's livelihood.

The old kettle gave a sharp whistle and Akira promptly removed the kettle from the fire and dropped the herbs on the boiled water, just as Tsunade had instructed. After stirring for a minute, she poured the tea on a small porcelain cup, the last of the tea set her grandmother used to have before they sold almost all of their belongings. Blowing the steam off, she walked towards her Inoue.

"Granny? Here's the tea. Please drink this."

It took a few more gentle coaching before Inoue stirred. She opened weary eyes and in the dim candlelight, her jaded eyes met her grandchild's bright ones...and oh how she was reminded of her own daughter.

"Thank you, child," Inoue managed to croak. With Akira's assistance she was able to drink the warm tea. It soothed her heavy chest, and she exhaled in satisfaction.

Akira smiled. "Granny, do you know who I visited the village this morning? It was the master of the Hyuuga house! Oh how he looked grand in his majestic robes granny! I've never seen such wonderful clothes before!" She took the cup and knelt by the side of Inoue's cot. "He was with other well-dressed men and women. I saw a girl with him and she's the prettiest I've ever seen! Her skin looked so smooth, granny, and her kimono was the loveliest in all of Takeda! It has pictures of pretty birds and, and, it was in gold..." Akira gave a longing sigh. "She's perfect. I wish I could be as beautiful as her."

Inoue began to say that the young Akira is also beautiful in her own right-with long dark hair, pale skin, small oval face and slate-gray eyes-but her coughing had began, shaking her whole thin form with each labored breath.

Akira gently laid Inoue back to the cot to rest and in a few minutes the old woman had drifted to sleep, occasionally coughing up blood and sputum. She watched her grandmother's wrinkled face, the pain and suffering clearly etched on the weathered skin, and silently she wept-for her grandma, for herself, and for their misfortune of being born poor.

As moonlight from the slanted windows streamed in, Akira sang the old lullaby Inoue used to sing her.

 _"Mori mo iyagaru, Bon kara saki-nya_  
 _Yuki mo chiratsuku-shi, Ko mo naku-shi_

 _Bon ga kita-tote, Nani ureshi-karo_  
 _Katabira wa nashi, Obi wa nashi_

 _Kono ko you naku, Mori wo ba ijiru_  
 _Mori mo ichi-nichi, Yaseru-yara_

 _Hayo-mo yuki-taya, Kono zaisho koete_  
 _Mukou ni mieru wa, Oya no uchi_  
 _Mukou ni mieru wa, Oya no uchi"_

In the mountains, the wolf howled.


	3. Death

"Open the gate!"

Human feet and horses' hooves scurried to welcome the Lord of the Hyuuga estate. The heavy metal gates creaked as they were pulled back. Servants rushed to line the driveway, lanterns on hand. A stately carriage pulled by handsome stallions enetered the threshold. Soon the entourage ceased, and Hyuuga Hiashi emerged.

"Good evening, Hyuuga-sama."

Hiashi gave a curt acknowledgement at the servant and proceeded to the manor-a magnificent building made of white stones, ruby bricks and polished wood. Behind him, a female servant carried the young Hyuuga heiress who was asleep.

"Bring Hinata to her room."

"Hai, Hyuuga-sama."

Hiashi motioned to his guards and together, the small group flocked towards the large room where another child, younger and thinner than her age was being tended to by two women.

"How is she?"

At his presence, the maids dropped to their knees and bowed in respect. The head nurse, Shizune, spoke.

"Good evening, Hiashi-sama. Hanabi-sama had another bout of fever this afternoon but it had subsided. The herbs you bought from Suna helped ease her cough. But, if I may ask, where is the healer Tsunade-sama?"

Hiashi's piercing eyes travelled from the sloe-eyed nurse to the child on the futon. Hanabi is his youngest daughter, second to Hinata. Where Hinata has the healthy blush of youth, Hanabi has a sickly pallor. She wasn't a sickly child before, but she started getting ill when their mother, Hiashi's wife and lady of the prestiged Hyuuga clan, had died after contracting a mysterious fever. It took all of Hiashi's efforts and resources to find a cure first, for the Lady Chizuru, and now for Hanabi.

Which was why Hiashi had gone to the obscure village of Takeda, in the cold mountain range of Koga, to ask for the help of the famous healer Senju Tsunade. However, the healer refused to come despite of the small fortune Hiashi offered, but he was determined. He had lost his wife, he will not lose her daughter too.

He took the bag of herbs that Tsunade had given him and handed it to Shizune.

"Here is what all Senju Tsunade had given. She said to brew it and make Hanabi drink it three times a day. She refused to come, saying that she's no longer a healer but a mere herbalist."

Shizune bowed. The rumor of Tsunade abandoning the art of healing had reached her too, but she knew that Tsunade never gives up on her patients. There must be a great reason why she refused to come to Konoha.

"Thank you, O-sama."

There was a brief pause as Hiashi studied the pale face of her daughter. Hanabi had inherited Chizuru's thick lashes, and the patriarch's heart clenched.

"Tell me the truth, Shizune, as Senju Tsunade's former apprentice. Will my daughter still get well?"

Shizune took the courage to look into Hyuuga Hiashi's pale eyes.

"O-sama, there is hope. But for that hope not to wither, Hanabi-sama must be seen by Senju Tsunade."

Hiashi regarded Shizune for a few minutes, and then Hanabi's pallid form, before turning on his heel. If Hanabi needs Tsunade, then there is no reason she will not get her.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!"

The buxom woman blinked drowsily, frowning at the noise coming from outside her clinic. She opened the window to see Akira and her dog outside.

She stood up fully, yawning. The morning sun shone harshly against her face, and Tsunade cursed to herself.

"What do you want?" She bellowed at the young girl.

Akira dropped to the ground to bow as low as she could. "Please O-hime, my grandmother is ill-"

"She's been ill for a year!"

"Hai, but this time she's coughing up more blood than usual. This morning, she had managed to cough up enough to fill a small cup. Please O-hime, help her!"

Tsunade's face hardened, not out of disdain, but to hide the pity she felt for the girl. Everybody knew how Akira and her grandmother are dirt-poor, hell, everybody in this forsaken town is. But Akira has no one but her grandmother, and now the old woman is dying.

As a healer Tsunade knew Inoue won't have long to live. How many wretched souls had she tried to cure but failed? Now Inoue will join those countless numbers, and she will not even have a decent kimono for burial.

"Please O-hime, I'll do anything!"

She could hear very well the desperation in the little girl's quivering voice. Tsunade cleared her throat. "Did you make her drink the herbs I gave you?"

"Yes, O-hime but she only vomits..."

Tsunade grabbed her medical kit, the few instruments she managed to save before she left Konoha, and walked towards the girl.

"Take me to Inoue."

Akira lifted a tear-stained face, gratitude written all over it. "Yes, O-hime-"

"Hurry Akira! And stop calling me that!"

"Hai! Sumimasen..."

They reached the battered hut and Tsunade fought to keep a straight face at the destitution that met her. The roof looked ready to topple and the walls had holes more than she could count. She wondered how the child and her grandmother manage to stay alive at these harsh conditions.

"Just lead me to where she is."

"Hai."

Akira and Tsunade entered the tiny enclosure and there, on the old bamboo cot lay Inoue. Tsunade could not hide her gasp of surprise. The old woman looked like a dried husk of coconut: her skin sagged, bones protruded harshly and her teeth had sunk. She seemed to be sleeping, the rapid rise and fall of her chest the only indication of life. Tsunade wasted no time to work.

"Fetch me a bowl of water and make tea with the herbs I gave you."

Without a word, Akira went to the kitchen with Yuudai silently behind her. While the girl busied with the tasks, Tsunade bent over Inoue and tried to wake the old woman.

"Inoue-baachan?"

Despite her prodding, Inoue's eyes remained shut. Tsunade noticed an increase in labored breathing and took out an instrument from her bag, pressing it against Inoue's flail chest. She straightened up in alarm. _'Her heart is failing!'_

"Akira! Hurry!"

The young girl scrambled to her feet, splashing water as she carried a basin. "Coming Tsunade-sa-"

Tsunade could not wait for the girl. Inoue had stopped breathing, and when Tsunade pressed to fingers against her neck, there was no pulse. As the healer began chest compressions, a part of her knew it was futile.

A small part however, hoped that Inoue would still revive, if only for Akira to properly say goodbye.

Tsunade was vaguely aware of the splash of water behind her and the anguished cry of "Obaa-saaaaan! Wake up Obaa-san!"

She was no longer aware of how long she kept pushing against the old woman's chest, or how long Akira sobbed, but when Tsunade finally stopped, she knew there's nothing more that can be done.

Young Akira's lament echoed in the small hut, the girl's small frame shaking with inconsolable sobs. Tsunade felt her heart clench at the scene before her. When Akira embraced her deceased grandmother, it took all of Tsunade's strength to hold her tears.

"Akira-chan," she whispered. "Come now."

The young girl merely sobbed harder.

Tsunade swallowed the lump at her throat, unable to stop the tears. She stood up and gave Inoue a final bow. She stepped out of the hut, leaving Akira to wallow in misery.

* * *

When Tsunade returned to the hut, she saw that Akira had not moved from Inoue's side. Carefully, Tsunade placed the incense on the table. She saw a small cabinet where clothes were kept and took out a clean kimono. It was of thin and stiff material, not the one preferred for burial but with the poor state Inoue lived, Tsunade doubted if the old woman ever owned a better kimono.

She prepared the bath and the prayer beads needed to lay Inoue to her final resting place. She had sought the help of the local men who were now digging in the small garden behind the hut. Since Inoue had not left any heirloom, Akira would not be able to pay the fee for a burial service in the local cemetery.

 _'I'm sorry Inoue-baachan but this is all we could do.'_

After a few minutes, Tsunade approached Akira and gently pried her off her grandmother. "Akira-chan, help me bathe Obaa-san?"

Having exhausted all her tears, the young girl only nodded mutely. Together, she and Tsunade gave Inoue her last bath and then dressed her in worn kimono. They lit incense and offered prayers to her. Tsunade had wanted to ask the Buddhist priest to say the last rites, but being a poor pharmacist herself, she did not have the funds. They settled for old prayer beads and singing sutra instead.

Finally, Inoue was wrapped in an old blanket and placed in a low-grade casket before she was lowered in the grave behind their hut. All this time Akira cried silently, tears flowing down her cheeks like sad waterfalls. It was all over in a few minutes.

Afterwards, Tsunade returned to her small herb store, the death of Inoue still weighing down upon her shoulders. As always, guilt gnawed her heart. Maybe if she had done more for the girl and her grandmother, then Inoue would still be alive. But what more could be done? Her lungs had been gnawed off by the disease and there is still no cure even in the most advanced cities.

A more troubling thought pressed on Tsunade. Now that Inoue's dead...what of Akira? The young girl is an orphan and as far as she knew, had no living relatives. The desolate image of the girl crossed Tsunade's mind and her heart went to the girl's sad plight.

Around her, Takeda continued with its daily activities: the market was noisy, peddlers called out to customers...it was as if death had not visited this old, sleepy town.

Her musings were disturbed by the arrival of a grand carriage, flanked by a train of horses and samurai. People strayed away from the street and marveled at the grand entrance.

The carriage stopped just before Tsunade's small herb clinic. The buxom woman recognized the family crest that adorned the carriage and she knew immediately that they have come for her. Her mouth curled into a frown.

 _'Persistent man!'_ she thought irritably.

Hyuuga Hiashi alighted from the carriage, and after a quick sweep of his pearlescent eyes on the dusty road, he turned his attention to the small shack that sold herbs. He did not have to knock, Tsunade met him at the door.

"Once again Hyuuga-sama, my answer is no," Tsunade stated firmly, arms akimbo. She saw the man's eyes hardened for a split-second before relapsing into its usual gaze.

"I understand your trepidation, O-hime, but I fervently hope that you reconsider. I am asking you out of desperation, as you are the best healer in this country."

Tsunade could not help the smirk that curled her lips. Hyuuga Hiashi, the lord of the Hyuuga clan, highly esteemed by the daimyo and the shogunate itself, is desperate? Surely, if he approached the shogun, the imperial doctor himself will be given to him. There must be some other reason why he is persistent on making her come to Konoha.

"I have given you the best brew that could heal most ailments," she said. "What more do you-"

"It's my daughter."

Tsunade's brown eyes widened. She did not know Hiashi had another daughter. At once her smirk disappeared. "Your daughter is ill?"

"Hai. Shizune-san, your apprentice, believes it's a fever of unknown origin-the same one that took my late wife-and despite her best efforts, could not heal my Hanabi. Please, O-hime. I do not wish to bury another member of the Main Hyuuga family."

The Main Hyuuga family. It is known that the Hyuuga clan is divided into two factions: the Main and the Branch House. This long-standing tradition had brought many feuds between the clan, due to the favoritism of the daimyo towards Hiashi's line. His twin and leader of the Branch House, Hyuuga Hizashi, had died in the coup-d-etat that suppressed the rebellion of the Branch House. The loss of their leader brought the Branch House to servitude.

Tsunade eyes hardened. "Please do not call me by that honorific, Hyuuga-sama."

"Surely, a member of the Senju-clan-"

"What is this about your daughter being ill?"

Hiashi recognized Tsunade's changing of the topic with a curt bow. "Yes. Hanabi had been experiencing fatigue and weakness ever since the death of her mother. She has the occasional fever."

"Her mother died of?"

"Milk pox"*

Tsunade sighed. "I heard that Shizune is currently employed in your house. She is my best apprentice and I have no doubt in her skill."

"She has proven herself very capable and skilled, but even she acknowledges that your expertise is still to be contested."

"Your flattery will not bring me back to Konoha, Hyuuga-sama."

"Then how about I double my offer? Please, I will not ask of you this great favor if not for my daughter."

Tsunade and Hiashi stared at each other, hard and long, both unwilling to waver. Finally, it was Tsunade who relented.

"Double and your guarantee that once your daughter is out of any peril, I will be free to return to Takeda."

Hiashi's face lighted up with unabashed relief. "You have my word."

* * *

Tsunade was packing her medical apparatuses and herbs when she heard a timid knock. Thinking it was perhaps a maid of Hiashi, she opened the door. Instead, it was Akira. Tsunade schooled her features into a gentler facade.

"Akira-chan? Shouldn't you be..." she faltered. With no family, what should the girl be doing now, anyway?

The young girl lifted up the small packet in her hands. "O-hime, these are what's left of the herbs you gave me before...before..." she bit her quivering lip. "Please take them, you may still be able to use them for the others..."

Tsunade's eyes softened. She knelt in front of Akira and pushed her hands back to her sides. "No, Akira-chan. You keep it. You might need it someday."

"Someday..."

The girl had a dazed look, as if she was a rock suddenly plunged in the middle of a lake. A rock out of her element, all alone in the vast unknown. Then her eyes focused on Tsunade's medical kit and the clothes strewn about.

"You're leaving, Tsunade-sama?"

"Hai." The healer straightened and resumed her packing. "I am going to Konoha to attend to a sick patient."

"Konoha...that's at the other side of the mountain."

"Yes."

Again, Akira was silent, her face the picture of a person lost. An awkward silence ensued between her and Tsunade. Before either could speak, a servant of Hiashi had appeared and informed Tsunade that the Hyuuga and his entourage are ready to leave. Tsunade gave an acknowledging bow before heading out the door.

Akira followed quietly, slate-gray eyes still not quite focused on the majestic carriage nor the imposing figure of Hiashi as he met Tsunade.

"You will ride with me in the carriage, Senju-sama."

"Hai. Arigato gozaimasu."

"Who is this girl?"

It was only this time that Akira finally took notice of the stares thrown her way-Hiashi's piercing eyes and Tsunade's curious gaze.

"I apologize deeply for my rudeness!" Akira promptly said as she dropped in a low bow at Hiashi's feet. "Forgive me, O-sama!"

Hiashi looked at the prostrate form and turned promptly back to Tsunade. "After you, Senju-sama."

Tsunade gave the little girl at her feet one last pitying look before she turned and rode the carriage.

The sounds of horses and carriages diminished before Akira lifted her head. For the first time since her grandmother's death, the young girl felt truly alone.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 ***Milk rash- another term for alastrim, or the milder form of small pox. It was an epidemic in Japan during the Edo period, which the setting of this fic is based on.**


	4. The Disease Called Loneliness

The Hyuuga Estate is huge, with tall walls made of pure white stone, red brick roof and grand stone statues of dragons. Located in the center of Konoha, the grand estate was heavily guarded. The heavy gates swung open to accommodate the grand entourage of carriages.

Inside, Tsunade scoffed openly at the lavish display of wealth, a stark contrast to the poor countryside she hailed from. If she had not refused the position offered to her by the Daimyo, she may well be living in a place as grand as this, attended to hand and foot by maids and not waste her skills away in an old, dilapidated pharmacy in the rickety old town of Takeda. But Tsunade could not stomach the blatant corruption and hedonism of the current shogunate, and she rather while away in poverty than lend her services to these sanctimonious old farts who did nothing but siphon the country's money to their own pockets.

Besides, she promised Dan. She promised not to become _their_ property.

"Senju-sama?"

The healer looked up at the Hyuuga patriarch.

"We have arrived."

She was assisted down from the couch and try as she might she could not stifle the gasp that escaped her lips. Up close, the main house of the Hyuuga gleamed bright from the afternoon sun. The smooth wooden floors shone. Servants lined the pathway, bowing in timed synchrony at the presence of Hyuuga Hiashi. From the main entrance, Shizune, who used to be Tsunade's pupil, welcomed them.

"Hyuuga-sama, Senju-sama," the young woman bowed. "How timely, Hanabi had just-"

Tsunade interrupted Shizune. "I will assess her myself. Where is she?"

Shizune motioned towards the interior of the house. "This way."

Tsunade wasted no time. The sooner she finishes her task, the faster she'll be able to go back to Takeda, away from the scrutinizing eyes of the Hyuuga and the silent torture of reliving her days in Konoha.

Shizune led her to a large room filled with the smell of burning incense. The smoke from the lighted sticks wafted lazily around a thin girl wrapped in blankets. Tsunade knelt at the girl's side with Shizune across her and Hiashi hovering behind them.

"How long had she been like this?" Tsunade asked while she assembled her tools.

"Ever since the lady of the house died. Six months ago."

Tsunade pulled out an assortment of vials and Shizune was quick to anticipate the needed mortar and pestle as well as the different apothecary bowls.

While her hands worked, Tsunade's eyes wandered over the sick girl, expert eyes taking notice of the pallor, the thin sheen of sweat and the dry chapped lips. In that brief moment, she had concluded what has to be done for Hanabi.

She turned to Hiashi. "It is still quite early to conclude," Tsunade started, hazel eyes hard with determination. "But give me three days and I will have found the cure for your child's illness."

Hiashi bowed in gratitude, a rare sight for everyone. "Thank you O-hime. But, is it like her mother's?"

"No. It is something different, I'm afraid. But just like what we say in Takeda, winter always bows to spring."

* * *

In the next three days that Tsunade stayed, her first order of things is to nourish Hanabi back to health.

"Are all of you fools? Of course the girl won't have energy to do anything, you barely feed her!" Tsunade pushed the bowl of porridge away. "Go tell the servants to cook up a warm broth, rice, fish, and pick some fresh fruit from the garden!"

The maid bowed in apology and scampered away. Meanwhile, Shizune approached her master.

"Tsunade-sama, it's not the maid's fault. Hanabi refuses to eat anything we offer her."

"That's stupid!" Tsunade scoffed. "She refuses to eat because all you serve her is gruel! Do you know how that tastes?!"

Soon enough and the maid returned with a tray heavily laden with fish, rice, soup and all assortments of fruits. Tsunade herself propped Hanabi with a pillow and fed her. To everyone's surprise, the girl actually opened her mouth and ate everything that Tsunade offered, eating more than half of what's in the tray. It was the most the girl had eaten in months.

"I want you to make her eat that much every day," Tsunade instructed the servants. "If she refuses, shove it down her throat."

At this, the maids gasped but Tsunade was unfazed. "What?" She turned to Hanabi. "You want to get well, don't you?"

* * *

The second day, Hiashi's early morning meditation was disturbed by a servant's presence.

"O-sama! Please, pardon my intrusion."

Hiashi sighed deeply and opened his eyes, irk hardening his steely gaze. "What is it?"

The servant bowed deeply. "My deep apologies sir but you have to see Hanabi-sama."

Alarm caused Hiashi to stiffen. "What happened?"

"She's out of bed."

When the Hyuuga patriarch reached the heiress' room, Hanabi could be seen seated on the tatami mat, dressed in a crisp white kimono with flower patterns, surrounded by maids who fussed over the young girl. Although her sickly pallor was still present, bones still stuck out of her exposed clavicle and her cheeks still hollow, seeing Hanabi up and free from the swaddles of her blankets was more than Hiashi could hope for. His eyes traveled over his daughter, seeing the faint image of his late wife, before turning his attention to the blonde healer.

"Senju-sama."

Tsunade bowed in acknowledgement before turning her back to leave the room. Hiashi followed.

"She's well."

"Not yet." Tsunade tipped the bottle of sake to her lips before turning towards Hiashi. "True, her appetite's better, she's strong enough to sit up and bathe but she's still a far cry from being healed."

"Then what is wrong with my daughter?" Hiashi asked.

"I still have one last day," Tsunade's eyes hardened with resolve. "But I have a hunch that what afflicts Hanabi is far from physical pain."

* * *

The third day.

"Oh Kami-sama! Look, Shizune-san!"

Shizune rushed to see the commotion. The house servants and some members of the Branch House had converged by the small Zen garden, looking on to some spectacle. The brunette nurse pushed her way through and gasped herself at the sight.

There on the bridge was Tsunade with Hanabi. The young girl was holding on to Tsunade's hand as they looked on at the koi fish at the pond.

It was the first time since she got sick that everybody saw Hanabi up on her feet, much more outside the house.

There were exclamations of awe and surprise at the speedy progress that Tsunade had brought to the sickly girl. Deep inside, Shizune's heart swelled with pride at the sight of her master, the renowned healer, practicing the noble art of healing once more.

 _'Uncle Dan will be so proud, Tsunade-shishou!'_

Later that day, Hiashi and Tsunade spoke to each other.

"Surely, you must stay for a couple more days," Hiashi said. "You had made my daughter better. She's eating more, she speaks and she walks! Please, just until-"

"We had a deal," Tsunade insisted. "You promised three days."

"I will triple your payment!"

Tsunade sighed. "This isn't about the money, Hyuuga-sama. Please listen. Your daughter is not physically ill. She doesn't have small pox, the disease that took your wife. Rather, Hanabi's illnes is _in here_ ," she pointed to her heart. "And it's not easy to cure. I can only do so much. That is why there is no use for me to stay longer than what is necessary."

There was a pregnant pause between Hiashi and Tsunade, and the healer took this time to assemble her instruments back to her kit. After a while, she spoke to Hiashi again.

"Hyuuga-sama, do not despair. I am not saying that Hanabi will not get well. She will but science can only go so far. There are ails in this world that no herb or medicine can cure. And your daughter has it."

Her brown eyes met with Hiashi's sober, pearlescent ones. "What is it that truly ails my daughter, Senju-sama?"

"It's a disease called... _loneliness._ "

* * *

As Hiashi watched the blonde woman leave the Hyuuga compound, he could not help but wonder if Senju Tsunade had been messing with his mind all this time.

The healer had claimed that the reason Hanabi had been sick was because she's _**lonely**_ from the death of her mother, _his wife._

It made no sense to the rational and straightforward patriarch. The clan had mourned Lady Chizuru but none had been ill as Hanabi was. True, for some time he himself had been cloaked by grief, but he learned to dust himself off and continue with life.

 _"But Hanabi isn't like you, Hyuuga-sama,"_ Tsunade had said. _"Think. When was the last time you even spoke to her? To your daughters?"_

The Senju woman spoke the truth. Hanabi had started to fall into her fevers when Chizuru died and for fear of contracting the disease, Hiashi had made Hinata, Hanabi's elder sister, live on the estate of their grandfather, out in the countryside of Gion. The sisters had been close prior to the death of their mother but that changed when Hinata had turned three and had to undergo her education in order to fulfill her role as heiress. Still, there was a strong bond that bound the sisters and Chizuru had been alive back then.

But the lady of the house died and all that was left in the compound was Hanabi and Hiashi. And that was when Hanabi had stopped eating, had stopped speaking, had stopped living. Hiashi had always blamed the milk pox, the disease, but really, shouldn't he blame himself for not being there for her daughter?

 _"Chizuru... help me,"_ Hiashi whispered to himself. _"I don't know what to do."_

He wasn't the kind of man to succumb to his emotions. He is a clan leader, the head of the Daimyo's trusted samurai clan. He carries the responsibilities of the Hyuuga clan, the favor of the Shogunate.

 _"But there's still hope," Tsunade had said. "Your daughter is lonely and she needs something to take that loneliness away."_

 _"Then I will have the finest performers from Suna to entertain in my house," Hiashi had declared. "And the best makers of children's toys from Iwagakure as well!"_

 _"Hiashi-sama, your child has enough playthings and trinkets. As for the performers, I doubt she'll appreciate Noh performances."_

 _"Then what?"_

 _The healer's eyes gleamed with sudden inspiration. But whatever it was behind her ambiguous smile, the woman kept secret._

 _"I will go back to Takeda. Give me another three days and for sure, I will have found a cure. You will receive it on the fourth night."_

That was how their last conversation went before Tsunade left the Hyuuga Estate. As he watched the healer disappear into the distance, the Hyuuga patriarch could not help but feel uneasy. A part of him doubted Senju but another part of him was desperate to take back her daughter.

Was this the curse Hizashi had bestowed on him when he said the Main House will suffer?


End file.
